


Breathing

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22350436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex goes to Jack's house for the first time, and has an allergic reaction to his cats.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Breathing

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request, and it's set when they were in high school.

“Dude, I can’t believe we’ve been friends for a year now, and you’ve never slept over at my house,” Jack said as he drove up the street in the direction of his house with Alex.  
“Same here, we’ve always hung out at my house. I’m glad we’re finally going to be at your house for a change, I feel like my parents can be super embarrassing sometimes,” Alex said, making them both laugh some.  
“Nah man, I like your parents, they’re cool,” Jack replied.  
“Yeah, I guess they’re alright. I’m excited to finally meet yours, though,” Alex stated.   
“I think you’ll like them. My mom’s even making her special lasagna since you’re coming over!” Jack exclaimed.   
“That’s sweet of her. I’m excited for tonight!” Alex stated. For the rest of the drive, the two of them sang along to Blink with the windows down. Once they got to Jack’s, they walked inside to find his mom in the living room.  
“Hey boys!” she exclaimed with a smile.  
“Hey mom. This is Alex. After a year of us being friends, you’re finally meeting him!” Jack stated.  
“It’s great to meet you, Alex, Jack talks about you all the time,” Mrs. Barakat said, giving Alex a hug.  
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Alex replied.   
“Dinner will be ready in about half an hour,” Mrs. Barakat informed.   
“Sounds good, mom. We’re going to chill in my room until then,” Jack said, leading Alex up the stairs and down the hallway.  
“Okay, time for you to see the coolest room in the house!” Jack exclaimed, opening up his door. Alex walked into an average sized room covered in posters and dirty laundry, which was very similar to his own.  
“Woah, what a cool room!” Alex exclaimed, setting down his backpack.  
“Thanks, man. oh, I have to show you the best part of my house! Well, the three bet parts. I’ll be right back,” Jack said, walking out of the room.   
Alex continued to look around the room while he waited for Jack to come back. After a few minutes, Jack came in, doing his best to hold three cats at the same time.  
“We have cats!” Jack exclaimed, putting the cats on the bed that Alex was sitting on. Alex quickly got up as the cats started to walk towards him.  
“What, do you not like cats? These ones are all really nice,” Jack said, seeing Alex’s discomfort.  
“It’s not that I don’t like cats, I’m just allergic to them,” Alex replied.  
“Oh, well I can take them out, if you want,” Jack offered.  
“It’s okay, I know you want them to be in here with us. If I don’t touch them, then I should be fine,” Alex decided.  
“Are you sure? I don’t want them to give you a bad reaction,” Jack stated.  
“I think I’ll be okay. Besides, I’ve been around cats before, so I know how to prevent a bad reaction, don’t worry,” Alex replied.   
“As long as you’re sure. Hey, do you want to play games on my computer until it’s time for dinner? I have two controllers!” Jack suggested.  
“That sounds great!” Alex replied. Jack set up a game, then sat on his bed next to Alex before pressing the start button. The two of them spent the next thirty minutes playing Jack’s game. The cats ended up staying in the room with them, sitting on the bed next to Jack.   
Alex could feel his throat starting to get scratchy, and his eyes get itchy, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want Jack to have to kick his cats out, especially since it was clear that he really liked them.   
They were playing a racing game, and Alex was in first place of their final round. Right before he was going to cross the finish line, he had a sneezing fit, allowing Jack to come and finish the race before Alex.  
“Oh shit, I won!” Jack exclaimed. He turned to Alex, but his excitement immediately went away when he saw that Alex was still sneezing.  
“Shit, are you alright, man?” Jack asked, scooting closer to Alex as he continued to sneeze.  
“I’m fine,” Alex replied in a stuffy voice. After a quick coughing fit, Alex sat up to see Jack looking concerned for him.  
“Hey, I’m okay, don’t worry. Maybe you guys have some allergy medicine I can take? I would’ve brought my own if I knew you guys had cats,” Alex explained.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t mention it, I didn’t even think about this happening. We’ll get you some medicine, it’s dinner time, anyway,” Jack said, turning off his computer. He led Alex back downstairs, the cats following closely behind them.  
“Hey mom, do we have allergy medicine? Alex is allergic to cats,” Jack asked his mom.  
“Yes, let me find something. Sorry about this, Alex,” Mrs. Barakat said as she looked through her medicine drawer.  
“It’s okay, I’m honestly pretty used to it,” Alex replied.  
“Take this, it should help you to feel better,” Mrs. Barakat said, handing Alex some medicine and water. Alex thanked her before quickly downing the medicine.  
“Dinner smells great, mom!” Jack exclaimed as he and Alex took a seat at the table.  
“Thanks. Your dad has to work late, so he won’t be joining us,” Mrs. Barakat explained. Alex really enjoyed the food, and he liked Jack’s mom and her genuine kindness.   
Unfortunately, Alex never really felt the medicine kick in, so he participated in the dinner conversation as much as he felt that he could. Once dinner was over, Jack decided that they should change into their PJs and go downstairs since there was a big TV, Xbox, and the couches that they’d be sleeping on down there.  
“Woah, this is a cool basement!” Alex exclaimed, looking at all of the details in the room.  
“Thanks, I love coming down here with friends,” Jack replied.  
“I bet! So, I can sleep on any of these couches?” Alex asked, pointing to the three couches set up in a square.   
“Yeah dude, take your pick, I’ll set up the Xbox,” Jack said. Alex picked a couch, then looked at his phone while Jack set up the Xbox. Distracted by his phone, Alex didn’t notice that one of Jack’s cats had climbed onto him, until it rubbed its tail under Alex’s nose, making him sneeze again.  
“Shit, I didn’t even realize Chole was down here, I’m so sorry, man. Are you okay?” Jack asked, quickly lifting the cat off of Alex.  
“Yeah, I’m-“ Alex cut himself off by coughing, feeling a lot of congestion forming from the allergens.   
“Let me get her out of here,” Jack said, running the cat upstairs.  
“Are you feeling okay?” Jack asked, sitting next to Alex on the couch.  
“A little congested, but I’m fine. I’m sure it’ll just go away,” Alex replied, blowing his nose.   
“In that case, let’s play this game! I just got it a couple weeks ago!” Jack exclaimed. The two of them started to play, and Alex really liked the game.   
Despite the cats not being in the basement, Alex could still feel his allergies getting worse. He did his best to stifle many coughs and sneezes, but after playing for a couple hours, he felt much worse than he had initially.  
“Hey, I’m going to put on a movie for us, go ahead and get comfortable,” Jack instructed, getting up to change the input on the TV. As Alex got settled into the couch, he quickly noticed that he felt worse.   
Breathing started to feel like more work, and Alex could immediately tell that the cats laid on these couches quite often. He didn’t tell Jack about this, he really didn’t want to ruin their night, and he didn’t want Jack to feel bad about something that wasn’t his fault.  
“I put on Superbad, if that’s cool with you,” Jack said, setting himself up on his couch.  
“I love that movie!” Alex exclaimed; his voice raspier now.  
“Me too! I don’t plan on sleeping yet, so if you need something, let me know,” Jack said, turning off the lights. Alex tried his hardest to focus on the movie, but his worsening allergies made this quite the challenge for him.   
Not long into the movie, Alex heard light snores, letting him know that Jack had fallen asleep. Alex decided to try and do the same, knowing that if he was asleep, he wouldn’t have to deal with feeling so bad. Alex closed his eyes, and noticed some wheezing in his breathing, freaking him out some. Normally his allergies didn’t cause this big of a reaction, but three long haired cats were definitely a lot.   
As he tried to sleep, he kept coughing, sneezing and blowing his nose, hoping to be able to breathe out of at least one side of it. Right before he was about to drift off, Alex felt his chest get heavy, and breathing became even harder. He quickly sat up, trying his hardest to breathe, but he was so congested that it felt impossible.   
Suddenly, he broke into a coughing fit, making him double over on himself in pain, and causing Jack to stir awake. Jack turned to look at Alex, and noticed the used tissues on the floor, and figured that Alex’s allergies had gotten worse. He got up and tried to help Alex sit up as he kept coughing.  
“Hey, are you okay, you sound a bit wheezy,” Jack asked.  
“Can’t breathe well,” Alex choked out between coughs.  
“Shit, that’s not good, we should get you home. Give me a couple minutes,” Jack said, running upstairs. He quickly changed into cat hair free clothes, then threw together an overnight bag together before grabbing what Alex had left upstairs and running back to the basement. Alex was now sneezing uncontrollably, still struggling to breathe.  
“Come on, we’re going to your house,” Jack said, turning the TV off. Alex grabbed what he’d taken downstairs, then followed Jack out of a door that led to the garage, where Jack’s car was. Jack helped Alex into the car, then started to drive to Alex’s house. About halfway through the ride, Alex was able to breathe easier, much to his relief.  
“I’m sorry for ruining our night,” Alex said with a sneeze.  
“Hey, you didn’t ruin anything, you can’t help it. I’m sorry my cats tried to kill you, I honestly didn’t even think about this being an issue,” Jack replied.  
“You don’t have to stay at my house with me if you don’t want to, you’re there so often you’d probably prefer to be at your own house now,” Alex stated.  
“Hell no, we can just have our sleepover at your house. I just want to hang out with you, I don’t care where. But, I guess it really can’t be at my house,” Jack replied.  
“I’ll take stronger medicine before coming next time, and mom’s been talking about getting me an inhaler, which would probably really help. I’ll figure out a way to make it work,” Alex said with a cough.  
“As long as you really want to, I don’t want you to feel like you have to do any of that. Hey, how’re you feeling?” Jack asked.  
“A bit better. I still feel congested, but based on past experience, that’ll go away eventually. Hey, thanks for being so concerned about all of this, it means a lot,” Alex replied.  
“Of course, man, why wouldn’t I be?” Jack asked.  
“I had a friend in grade school who thought I was just being overly dramatic about how allergic I am to cats, and never tried to help me if I was having a bad reaction to their cats. It wasn’t usually as bad as it was tonight, but as a kid, it was terrifying, regardless,” Alex explained.   
“Shit, that really sucks, dude. I’m sorry you had such a shitty friend, but I wouldn’t do that. It’s not like you asked to be allergic to the best animals on the planet!” Jack exclaimed.  
“Personally, I think that title belongs to dogs, but I’ll let you think that for being such an awesome friend,” Alex said, making the two of them smile as they pulled into Alex’s driveway.  
“Do whatever you have to do to clean up and feel better, then we can resume our sleepover!” Jack said as they got out of the car.  
“Cool, I’ll meet you in the basement,” Alex replied. He went to his bathroom and got in the shower to get as much dander off of him as he could. Once he was clean, he started to feel better, and his allergy symptoms started to go away.   
While not being able to breathe wasn’t his preferred way to spend a Friday night, he was grateful that Jack was so helpful and understanding about everything. Alex smiled to himself as he went downstairs, ready to spend more time with his best friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request from my Tumblr! This is actually based on something that happened to me, I have a friend who had 5 cats, and I'm super allergic, and I had to leave her birthday party in the middle of the night because I couldn't breathe. I'm definitely a dog person! What are your guys' opinions on the new atl song? Personally, I really love it! It's inspiring me to write more, so please send in requests if you have them, I'd love to write your all's ideas!! I hope you enjoyed this story, and thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me. Lots of love, Liv.


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